Point of Endurance Trilogy Pt. 1: Sapphire Blue
by Silver Vaporeon
Summary: after an argument with James, Jessie is kidnapped and transformed into a pokemon only to escape and be caught by Ash. Will she ever regain her memories or human form? Part one of the trilogy
1. -Dispute-

Untitled Document

**Sapphire Blue**

~by Silver Vaporeon~   
disclamer: I don't own Pokèmon, but this is my story. Enjoy. 

-Part I- Dispute 

It was just after the first rains of spring when it happened. Another lousy day, another argument between Jessie and James in their hideout cabin in the woods. The pidgies in the tree next to the cabin took to the air in fear as Jessie screamed obscene words at James. 

"It was your fault!" Jessie screamed. "If you hadn't forgotten the equipment, we'd had captured Pikachu!" 

"Wasn't it you who decided to try to steal that kid's pidgeot when we already had Pikachu?!" James shot back. 

Meowth lay on the scratchy beat-up couch, not wanting to get caught in the argument. He soon dozed off as the argument heated up. Suddenly, Meowth found himself embedded in the wall and fell to the floor in a heap. Apparently, James had really upset Jessie and she had grabbed Meowth to throw at him. 

"FINE, JAMES! JUST FINE!" Jessie spat in his face and thundered out the door, slamming it behind her. She had slammed it so hard that a picture frame hanging on the wall wobbled a bit before falling. The glass shattered into a million fragments as it hit the ground. James, somewhat calmly mopped his face with his shirt. The nerve of that Jessie! Blaming him for what had happened. And then taking his angry statements so seriously! 

"So much for this picture frame…" James threw the broken frame, along with the picture of Jessie in it, into the trashcan. Meowth lay twitching in pain. 

****** 

Jessie leaned forward on the steal railing and tossed a rock far into the rapid river below, following its course till it disappeared under the water. 

She angrily wiped away a tear, as if it had betrayed her. She was angry at James still, but more at herself for letting her emotions go. 

"You've done it again, Jessie…" she muttered to herself, leaning on the railing. 

Out of nowhere, a white-gloved hand clasped around her mouth and another wrapped around her waist, pinning her to whoever was grabbing her. The person started to lift her off the ground and feel her body. Jessie gave a surprised muffled scream and gathered momentum, then heaved herself in the air and flipped over the person who held her captive. 

He, as far as Jessie knew, it was a he, let go as his head hit the ground. Jessie ran as fast as she could towards the cabin on the dirt road. But the person had gotten up again and used a retractable whip of some sort and the long black leather strap wrapped around her from just below the shoulders to her wrists, pinning her arms to her sides. The person, in all black attire, pulled Jessie towards him. Jessie stumbled forward and tried to break away. Another leather strip wrapped around her from another direction. A second man in black attire was holding the end opposite of the side the first man was. They held her tightly and she could only struggle. 

"Let me go! JAMES! MEOWTH! HELP!" Jessie shouted, struggling to free herself.   
Another whip whipped Jessie across the legs. Pain surged through her legs and she knew they were bleeding. Not able to withstand the attack, she sank to the ground, still tangled in the two leather strips. Breathing hard, she saw that a man, the one who had whipped her, had emerged from the woods. He knelt down to her and she looked at him, not able to tell who he was since his eyes were hidden behind shades. 

"Hello, Jessie. Nice to see you again," the man smirked. 

"Who are-" Jessie started. 

"You'll find out sooner or later, Jess. But now its nap time," the man took out a syringe. Jessie yelped and kicked it out of his hands. The man backhanded her hard and she fell helplessly to the ground. He picked up the glimmering needle and injected her with a tranquilizer. Everything grew fuzzy and started to spin. The man's quiet laughter echoed in her mind as she lost consciousness within seconds. 

***** 

"Jessie shoulda have been back by now," Meowth thought out loud. It had been three days and the rain had finally stopped pouring. 

"Who cares? She can handle everything herself. Just peachy," James muttered, still angry with her. 

"You 'tink she needs us?" Meowth asked. 

"I don't wanna," James buried his face into the pillow. All he wanted to do in this weather was to sleep. 

"Well, Meowth is gonna look for Jessie by myself," Meowth said. 

"Fine…" James flopped around on the bed, wishing that they at least had a heater. Jessie was probably blowing off their hard-earned paychecks at a five-star hotel and eating her caviar or something… 

"JAMES!" Meowth ran into the room as if his feet were on fire. "Jessie! She's-she-"   
Meowth didn't want to say what he believed had happened to Jessie. He pulled out Jessie's tattered (once white) jacket and held it up for James. "I found dis down da river," He muttered. James took the soiled, shredded thing and stared at it, disbelieving. 

Jessie was strong, she wouldn't. She wouldn't…would she? After what he had said-?   
James got up and ran outside in his boxers and tank top. Splashing through puddles and damp grass, he ran right to the river and looked over the steel railing. He screamed her name over and over, with only his echoes responding beyond the trees. He then knew the horrible truth he didn't want to face. 

He slumped against the steel railing and buried his face in his arms, feeling sorrowful, guilty and shameful. Jessie was gone. 


	2. -Metamorphosis-

Untitled Document -Part II- Metamorphosis 

Jessie slowly opened her deep blue eyes. Everything was so dark and her head was throbbing badly with dull pain. The wounds on her legs seemed to have been cured and bandaged. She was aware that she was laying on her side on a big metal table and got up. She heaved herself off. She landed and, with a sickening feeling in her stomach, realized that her arms were only as long as her hands. Not to mention she couldn't get on her feet easily and had to stay on all fours. Had they cut off her legs or something? No..it was a different feeling… 

The light suddenly came on and Jessie blinked before crouching down, ready to spring and defend herself. 

"Now, now, don't get excited!" a young man was holding his hands up in defense. He was a scientist from the Rocket Labs. His messy brown hair gave him a youthful look. He smiled down at Jessie with his big brown eyes.   
Jessie started to feel frightened. Why was he so much taller than her? 

"Seems that you woke up a couple days early. Another success." 

"What do you mean? Who are you?" Jessie hissed. 

"I am Xavier. But you really don't need to know that and what is going on. You're the third successful experiment we've had in metamorphosis at Rocket Labs," Xavier went over to the counter and began washing his hands at the sink. Jessie looked around. The room looked like an ordinary room at the doctor's with the same blinding white walls and cabinets. 

"Experiment? Metamorphosis?" the queasiness in her stomach was getting worse. 

"See for yourself," Xavier held a small hand-mirror to level with Jessie. 

Jessie nearly passed out. She couldn't believe her reflection. The mirror had to be broken! Instead of her normal, beautiful self, the reflection revealed a Flareon: a Flareon with a small tuft of hair on the top of her head that curled back just like her's-or what WAS her's- and the same shade of blue in her eyes. 

"But..bu…but…" Jessie stammered. 

"No use, Jessie. I can't change you back. We've only succeeded in turning people into pokèmon but we never found out how to change them back. You see, back in the days when Team Rocket was still small and unknown-run by a woman we only know as 'Madam Boss' or 'Woman Boss'- the idea of agents with the power to turn into pokèmon and back again in dangerous missions was revolutionary and the Team Rocket Scientists were put to the test. We came up with the solution some twenty years ago; you ever heard of Ryan?" 

"Doesn't everyone? He was one of the best agents in Team Rocket history, and one of the best surfers too. He died in a boating accident though. But what does that have to do with me?" Jessie replied, sitting on her haunches, reciting the well-known information, a bit annoyed. 

Xavier chuckled uneasily. "That was the cover-up story. He was the top agent, that's for sure, but he was also the first one to survive the metamorphic process; the first to successfully turn into a pokèmon and survive. We weren't sure what he would become but it seems that the person becomes a pokèmon of an element they represent. Ryan obviously had a shocking personality so he became a Pikachu; a blue-eyed Pikachu." 

_Ryan? He became…Puka the surfing Pikachu?!_ Jessie remembered the aged Pikachu with the blue eyes on the beach. 

"We also tested the process on other people, but most of them never survived the process. Remember, you are only the fourth to survive so you must be very fit in body and in mind. Ryan and the others had blue eyes. Must be something to do with genetics. Very interesting…" Xavier jotted down some notes before scooping Jessie onto the table again to check her physical conditions. 

After reluctantly letting him check her heart rate, temperature and endless note taking, Jessie asked softly, "Why did you do this to me?" 

"I don't know. I wasn't in the group who did the process and I probably have said too much already. If I were you, I'd choose my last words wisely. The vocal chords take the longest time to change after the procedure so you won't be able to talk human language quite soon. I was quite surprised you woke up so early." 

"But-" Jessie protested. The door opened. 

"Xavier, you have no permission to be in here," a woman with short green wavy hair and wiry glasses glared. 

"I am sorry, Katherine, but Dr. McNamara had asked me to check up on Je-" 

"The right people shall do that and they will be behind the further testing, not you." 

_Further testing?!_ She'd heard of all the horror stories of what they did to "test subjects" and she wasn't staying around to find out if they were true.   
Quick as a flash, she disappeared out of the room. Surprised agents could only see a crimson streak as Jessie ran through corridor after corridor. She finally found a way out of the building through a small window and disappeared into the bushes. Jessie slumped down and caught her breath before slinking off into the surrounding woods. 


	3. -Capture-

Untitled Document

-Part III- Capture 

"James, what is the matter with ya?! One minute you're fuming mad and the other, you're moping as if your heart was broke! I know dat you're worried but Jessie's a tough goil, she wouldn't have done DAT," Meowth was getting impatient with James. 

"But what if she did, Meowth? It would have been MY fault. I pushed her to the edge, I was the straw that broke the Tauros' back. You would know how I feel if you were the one to blame," James turned away and drank his coffee, not even noticing how scalding hot it was. Meowth sweatdropped. 

"Um…how bout we go an' get something to eats? Meowth is hungry," James threw the coffee cup at Meowth, missing him by an inch. Fragments flew everywhere as James stomped off into the bedroom again. As Meowth started sweeping up the pieces, he heard subdued crying from the room. 

"He's cracked…" Meowth muttered to himself. 

******* 

"I am tired, Ash. Can't we set up camp here?" Misty groaned. Only Ash was still walking proudly and happily on the trail. 

"Aww, darn it, Misty! We're almost at the next town!" 

"But Ash, its at least eight miles away! We're tired!" Misty argued. 

"But-" Ash started but saw a pair of red pointed ears in the bushes. A pair of blue eyes watched him. 

"What's that?" Ash started to point his pokèdex at the animal. 

"Forget it, Ash! It's a Flareon, and I am gonna catch it! Misty calls…Staryu!" 

"No way! Its mine! Go, Vupix!" 

"No fair! I saw it first! Squirtle, I choose you!" 

All three pokèmon dived for the bush in search of the Flareon. Jessie leapt out of the bushes in time and the three had a head-on collision. 

"Staryu! Water gun!" Misty commanded. 

"You-AARE!" Jessie's eyes widened. Xavier's warning had been true. No matter how hard she tried as she dodged the attacks, she failed to speak in "human language". 

"Was it just me or did it just TALK?" Ash scratched his head. "Sounded like Jessie." 

"Probably your imagination again. Vulpix, quick attack!" Brock shouted. 

"VUL!" Vulpix slammed into Jessie's side. 

Jessie fell but quickly sprang up. If only she knew an attack! She had no time to think. Staryu slammed into her side and Jessie fell down again. Squirtle doused her with a water gun attack, making her curl in defense. It was agonizing pain. Out of the corner of her eye, Jessie spotted the Vulpix coming in for another attack. 

"FLLLLAARE!" Jessie cried in pain and fear. Out from her mouth came a giant flame and it engulfed all three pokemon and made them a crispy brown. Jessie struggled to her feet, panting hard, trembling with pain, ready to take on any more attacks, willing to fight to the death before any twerp won her as a prize. 

"All right! Its weak now!" Ash said. 

"Pokèball go!" three red and white spheres shot from the trainers' hands, aiming for the rare pokèmon. Jessie swatted two away but one hit her smack on the forehead. Jessie felt herself de-materializing and collect in a red beam. She was sucked inside the pokèball and it slammed shut. She had no physical strength to fight her way out of the force and she gave up after a long struggle. Ash's eyes gleamed with joy as he picked up his pokèball now containing the blue-eyed treasure. He held it up to the light and started dancing around, celebrating his victory. Jessie was starting to feel sick within the pokèball. 

"I caught a Flareon!" he chanted. Misty and Brock sweatdropped as Ash started running around in circles, holding the ball above his head. 

"Ash! Stop gloating and help us set up camp!" Misty yelled. Ash continued to prance around as he collected the firewood. Misty and Brock sighed. 

********* 

Inside the pokèball, Jessie was fighting mentally to keep her own mind. Pokèmon who were successfully captured by a pokèball were subjected to the little known memory-altering mechanism inside. It depended on how strong the pokèmon was to how many badges you had earned. The more badges a trainer earned, the more powerful the mechanism was and the more likely the pokèmon would be yours to command. Since they couldn't remember who they were or where they came from after the mechanism had done its work, the pokèmon would usually do whatever its "master" commanded because they knew of nothing else. Wild Pokèmon liked being a fighter for a human as a human would be a slave under his or her own free will. Competing with the experience of eight badges, Jessie would have surly lost the battle. But Jessie was not a 100% pokèmon with a pokèmon mind. She was a human trapped in a pokèmon's body. 

********* 

Jessie's pokèball popped open. Ash had released her to check her out. 

"Hey, Flareon!" Ash bent down and held out his hand as a gesture of friendship. Jessie looked at him puzzled. 

_Who was this? I know him, yet I don't…_ Jessie struggled to piece together the half-memories she had. 

**_A girl with red hair in two pigtails….the girl eating snow rolls…_**_ Was this who she was?_

Jessie shook her head, trying to cling to the memories. 

**_The same girl walking in the snow…a young boy unconscious in the snow…_**_but who?_

Another memory…. 

**_"This one's for you, Jessie!" The boy was grown up…age seventeen at least, perhaps in his early twenties. The same girl, grown up too, cheering him on in the crowd…_**

**_"I told you to cure it, not kill it!" the girl screamed at a doctor. A syringe was in his hand…._**

Jessie grew fearful as her mind focused on the sharp needle. _But why?_

She struggled to remember. Ash was growing concerned for his new pokèmon. 

"Come on, Flare-" he reached down to pet her head. 

_**"Pikachu! Thunder shock!"**_

_This boy was bad._ Jessie immediately bit his hand hard. 

"YOOOWWW!!!" 


	4. -Part IV-

New Page 1

-Part IV-

Sakura blossoms rained down from the trees on James and Meowth as they walked down the path, tangling in the former's hair as the wind blew.It would have been the perfect day according to James; if his guilt hadn't been weighing him down.Days had passed and their search(which Meowth had convinced James after a while to do) was going nowhere.A soiled glove here, an earring there

Meowth was chattering away, trying to get even a response from his human friend who looked blankly in front of him as he walked.

Dangit, James. Ya gotta snap outta it! It wasn't ya fault an'-

James grabbed Meowth by the scuff of his neck. He glared angrily at the scratch-cat pokèmon with a glare that would have killed him nine times over.Without a word, he threw him into the now tranquil river.

Seconds later, Meowth sprang out of the water with a goldeen's jaws on his tail.He crashed into the woods on the other side with the fish in tow.

James continued his walk, a rope in hand.

*******

She's **escaped**?! a woman with short straight auburn hair stood up suddenly, knocking her chair over.

Yes, but it was all Xavier's fault! the green-haired woman stammered, looking for a scapegoat.

Never mind about Xavier, Katherine! You know that the test subjects are just humans trapped in a pokèmon's body.They have the same smarts as when they were humans and you go and alarm her!the woman screamed at her.The green-haired woman named Katherine cowered slightly.

Calm down, Sarah, a man around his mid thirties with a small brown goatee and small glasses restrained the woman.Katherine gave a sigh of relief.Sarah grunted and sat back down.

Not all is lost, the man continued.We still have the other two test subjects.And we can always ask the authorities to retrieve Jessie.They still buy that stupid 

We love Pokèmon' Society cover after twenty years and would be willing to help us find our lost pet'.

Those two old ones are no use to us anymore! Enough. We still can't take any chances.What if-Sarah began.

-if the person funding your research decides to check up on your progress? a young woman stepped inside.The three scientists scrambled to their feet.

Ms. Jezebelle! all three exclaimed, not expecting their benefactor to show up at this point of time.

I am aware the little bitch ran away, Jezebelle started. And the fact that the experiment has been successful.You do realize that you have to get her back immediately? Jezebelle pointed the handle-end of her whip at them.

Of course! You're the one who handled all of our financial problems so you shall get what you need. May I interest you in some- the man started to gesture to the kitchen but a crack of Jezebelle's whip on the table stopped him in mid-sentence.

No and shut up, David. All I am interested in are results and I want that Jessie-girl back here before I come again.

When would that be? David stammered.

A few months time, and I expect to see the results!with that, Jezebelle left the three, stunned scientists.

Xavier was carrying a stack of papers and walking passed the room when he had overheard the elite scientists talking.Curious, he had eavesdropped on the entire conversation.

What a mess this is He murmured as he backed away from the opening door and watched Jezebelle take her leave.

*******

Meowth awoke to the pain in his head. The goldeen had flopped back into the river and he started rubbing his hurt tail.He heard voicesJessie's name was mentioned.

He peered through the bushes and saw a group of Dan'in members conversing in front of an RV.

So how did the kidnapping go for you? one Dan'in asked another one. 

Crazy bitch she was. Put up a hell of a fight.I had to practically knock her out **before** giving her the tranquilizer.

So she's getting 

I heard that she's up for some experimentation or somethin'.

The rest of the group started whispering comments between themselves.The leader of the group silenced them with a wave of his hand.

Come on, we need to plant the rest of her stuff and fake evidence where those idiot partners of hers will find it and so they'll give up that stupid search they've been doing for the past few days.

Meowth's eyes widened. Jessie was up for experimenting?!Then that would mean

James had to know.

*******

Jessie was confined to her pokèball after the biting incident.She didn't mind. It gave her time to think why there were so many gaps in her memory. But she was piecing the bits of the puzzle together, at last figuring out a few things.She knew she had been a girl named Jessiebelonging to Team Rocketwhatever that was

_**Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!**___ _Team Rocket was evilbut who is Jessie? Was she evil?_

**_Meowth, dat's right!_**_A talking Meowth? How is that possible? _

**_We'll never give up, you old hag!_** _that's Misty...the carrot top twerpat least I know I hated her _

_**Get out of my face and don't come back, you witch! I hate you! You're just as much as a failure as your mother! **__Who was this angry man? Why is he yelling at me? Why was I so upset at his comment that I slapped and spat at him before running away?His face is not clear.as if I **wanted** to forget him_

*******

Ash! You can't use a water pokemon against a grass type! Misty groaned as Squirtle was KO'ed by an Executor.

Ready to give up? the girl trainer asked.The Executor puffed up its chest to show off what strength it still had.

he reached for a pokèball.

Ash no! you dimwit! Charizard will never listen to you!

Hey, I was reaching for Flareon's pokèball!

But that thing nearly chewed your hand off, remember? Its just as obedient as Charizard! Misty nearly made Ash deaf.

Shut up, Misty! I know what I am doing! Ash threw Jessie's pokèball into the designated area.Misty sulked by Brock as Jessie materialized, once again surprised she had been called out.

Flareon! Flamethrower!Ash commanded. Jessie was confused.How was she supposed to use flamethrower if she didn't know how?!The Executor slammed into her side.Jessie flew ten feet before crashing down.She hissed as the pokèmon headed for another attack.

It leapt up and started trampling her.What kind of dumb trainer was this damn kid?!Executor stomped on Jessie's face, enraging her enough to her limit.

Jessie screamed.She rolled out of Executor's range, got up and pounced for the palm-tree-like monster, scratching and biting in a full-fledged fury, yowling all the while.

it seems real mad, Ash said to himself, sweatdropping.Panting, Jessie finally abandoned the executor, who was twitching with pain and defiantly unable to continue the battle.

*********

Meowth ran through the woods on all fours as fast as his paws would go.The information he knew could land him in deep trouble and possibly get him fired' by Giovanni himself.He had run upstream along the edge of the river until he found a bridge, crossed to the other side and turned around to catch up with James, who had been going downstream wise.His little feline heart pounded as he ran.Sakura petals fell all around him.

he called as the familiar boy came into view, still walking on the path by the river, towards the deeper part of the forest.But he was still too far from him for him to hear and respond.A sudden blow to his head from behind knocked Meowth out cold. The Dan'in member spoke into her radio.

I got the cat, now what do I do with him?

Keep him close and don't let him escape.We'll deal with him later, the person said. Over and out.

********

Executor, return

Yeah! I won! Ash did his little victory dance.

The girl recalled her grass pokèmon and shook hands with Ash.

You are not unskilled. Are you willing to trade your Flareon for one of my pokèmon? I'll give you my shiny Gyrados for it, she said as they withdrew from their handshake and gave Ash half of her money.

No thanks, I've got great plans for this pokèmon, Ash politely declined the offer.

Ok. Well, goodbye and good luck with your journey.The girl picked up her knapsack and continued her own journey, going the way the twerps had gone through.

Ash picked Jessie up.

You and I are gonna be best friends! he said cheerfully.Jessie scowled and bit his hand yet again.


	5. -Part V-

-Part V - 

-Part V - 

As the trio reached Mahogany City, they took a break at the fountain located in the middle of the place.

"Ah! Finally I can spend the night in a nice comfy bed!" Misty said, happily.Ash was polishing his pokèballs, not taking any notice of Misty's comments or anything else.He lifted Jessie's pokèball to the light and smiled as it caught the light before polishing it again with a soft cloth.Ok, so he's had difficulties with his new capture, but it wasn't like he hadn't gone through it before.He'll earn its trust sooner or later.

Officer Jenny strolled by and Brock blushed.Misty nudged him. Ash looked up a bit puzzled.

"How are you, Officer Jenny?" He asked, putting the pokèball away and smiling.

Officer Jenny exchanged the smile and took out a notepad. 

"I am fine, young man and I'd like to ask you something," she said.

"I'll be happy to have dinner with you and then we could-" Brock started before Misty pulled him hard by the ear.Jenny sweatdropped.

"Err…no thank you. I need to ask if you've seen a blue-eyed Flareon anywhere around here.I've been assigned to track it down and return it to…" she glanced at the notepad. "The 'We-love-Pokèmon' Society.Apparently it had run away and the owner is very desperate to have it back. Have you seen it around?"

Ash gulped slightly.It had to be a lie; he had caught it with a pokèball…only wild pokèmon could be captured inside a pokèball…or were there exceptions? In any case, the Flareon he had must have had a good reason to run away-if it had-...like Charmander had and he DID capture it fair and square...He decided to use the most obvious tactic.

"Well-" Misty and Brock started.

"Nope, haven't seen any near here, Officer," Ash said, grinning a bit nervously, clasping a hand over Misty and Brock's mouths."And we're rather tired after our journey so, we'd better go find a pokèmon center, bye!" 

The boy then picked both of his companions up and rushed away in a cloud of dust.Officer Jenny blinked, a bit puzzled about what just happened.

Ash stopped a bit outside of Mahogany city and collapsed, dropping of his rather annoyed friends.

"Whew! I thought she would have caught us!" Ash panted.

"What are you doing, Ash?! You just lied to Officer Jenny and know that you have the possession ofa lost pet!" Misty screamed.Brock set two hands on her shoulders to calm her down and she calmed down…a bit.

"Come on, Mist.I didn't lie COMPLETELY. She only asked if we had seen Flareon around the city, not if we saw one eight miles from it or if we had caught one."

"You idiot! you'll get us in trouble if we run into her againand she sees Flareon!" Misty pushed Brock away from her and shouted the last three words separately and deliberately, spraying Ash with spit before stopping to catch her breath.Ash wiped his face with a dirty sleeve and pushed her away, giving Misty a bit of a shock.The nerve of this boy! Sometimes she wondered why she even liked him or tagged along…oh yeah…it was because of the bike…

"Jeez, Misty! I caught Flareon fair and square with a pokèball! You're just still jealous that I caught it," Ash barked.

"Why you arrogant-" Misty started, red in the face.

"Chill! We're not going to go back to Mahogany City anyways. Ash dragged us out of town for miles," Brock sighed, looking at his map and then at a road sign."We'd better head for Crimson City then.Its only six miles away over that hill."

"Oh no…more hiking.." Misty slumped over and began to cry small anime tears. "And I wanted a nice comfy bed…"

*********

_"Where am I?"_Consciousness had hit Meowth like cold water.Groggily, he shook his head and looked around.The first thing he noticed was the 'Grunt' (elite members often referred to recruits and Dan'in members as 'Grunts') whom had conked him out.She was facing other direction, cooking a soup of some kind. 

The smell of ginger and mushrooms reached Meowth and reminded him of the odors at the oriental potion shoppe owned by that Cassandra lady and her grandmother.Meowth groaned softly and got to his hind feet.He quickly fell back down, yowling with pain.

The Dan'in member turned around and glared at the cat.Lacking rope to tie Meowth up with, ora cage to put him in after she catnapped him, she had broken his leg so he wouldn't get away but at this rate, James would hear his yowls and try to find him anyways.

"Shut up!" she slapped the cat across his face.Meowth was backhanded into a tree.He slid down and rested at the base, swirly-eyed and unconscious again.

_"Clark should be back by now" _the girl thought to herself as she removed the shades she wore and rubbed her eyes.It was often that her eyes were hidden behind shadows, so it made no difference if she wore sunglasses; it looked the same.

"Terri!" a male voice called out. "Have you got lunch ready?"

"No. It's nearly done though," Terri looked up at her partner and gestured to the boiling pot of soup on the fire.Clark ran his fingers through his partner's short hair.

"Smells good.I saw James wandering downstream; reckon we throw in the rest of Jessie's stuff?"

"Yeah, I guess.Take these and toss them into the river. He'll find it as it floats downstream and hopefully stop looking. I smell a promotion ahead of us."

The Dan'in member named Terri tossed Clark the locket that was found on Jessie and he in turn, flung it into the river.

"Now how 'bout some lunch?"


	6. -Part VI-

-Part VI-

-Part VI-

James threw one end of the rope over a sturdy branch of the cherry tree as he stood on the large loose rock underneath it.He tied the ends together and gave the whole thing a slight tug to see if it was secure.Blossoms fluttered down and gently graced his face like a lover's soft kiss.A kiss that he would never receive.

The boy bowed his head silently, tears finally finding an exit from his eyes.He was alone and glad that Meowth wasn't there to stop him. 

Jessie…I am so sorry …my friend…my mentor…my comfort…my guidance…my admiration…why did it have to turn out like this? Does it take a tragedy to make me see truly how much…I…cared for you and… loved you? 

Even now, he was afraid to admit to even himself he had…loved his partner. He had been afraid of slipping up and landing in trouble with Jessie who probably would have hated him now if she were still alive; not to mention the Boss and those were the last two things he'd ever do.

It didn't matter now; nothing did.Taking a deep breath, James carefully balanced himself as he began to put his head through the loop he had made.Trembling, he prepared to kick the stone out of the way as he did so, hoping it would be a quick death.But fear held him back and he ended up slipping. Loosing his balance, he felt the rope catch onthe under-part of his chin, making his head snap back before he fell off the stone and hit the ground.James started sobbing quietly against the rock. 

Why was he such a coward?!

A hand touched him lightly on the shoulder.Caught by surprise, James leapt up into the air and clung to the branch.The blossoms were knocked off by the hundreds. 

"James-sempai! It's me, Mondo!"A familiar brown haired (now with lots of petals in his hair) boy looked up him.

The branch wasn't nearly as sturdy as James had thought for it snapped and James found himself back on the ground again.

"Sir! Are you alright?" Mondo hurried to his side and shook his shoulder.James brushed the hand away.

"Just leave me alone,"James said a bit angrily, wiping his tears away in vain.

"Where is Jessie-sempai?" Mondo asked, trying find out why his friend was crying."I found this down by the river a while ago as I was coming to your cabin and-what is wron-"

"Leave me alone!"James screamed, giving up on holding in the tears and ran towards the cabin, bawling. Mondo didn't pursue him but looked at the looped rope entangled in the branch that was now on the ground.He scooped down and rubbed it between his thumb and index finger.He looked at the heart-broken man running down the path.

He tried to… Mondo tried to stop the awful thought from coming to mind, but it did anyways.Suicide wasn't the idea that would normally be considered by his senior friend.Why would he want to kill himself?

Mondo reached into his pocket and took out the sparkling locket he had found by the banks of the river while he was walking to check up on his friends.He had recognized it immediately and picked it up.He held it to his chest as he remembered the day Jessie told him what the locket meant to her; when she was alone and upset one day and he had comforted her…

**_ _**

**_ _**

**_"Mondo…I want to show you something." _**

**_ _**

**_Jessie somewhat shakingly reached into the depths of the neck of her jacket and pulled out a shining heart-shaped, sapphire-like locket.It looked like it was carved from a perfect gem.But…why show this to him? _**

**_ _**

**_She fiddledwith the latch and opened it.On the right side was a photograph of James.On the other side was Jessie.Both people were in their early teens and the pictures were two halves of a single photo, each half on in one side of the locket.They had originally had an arm around the other's shoulder and you could still see a bit of each other's hand in the other's half of the photo.Mondo eyed the half of Jessie especially. _**

**_ _**

**_"It is very nice, Jessie-sempai…almost as beautiful as you. You were as beautiful as you are now in that charming photo."_**

**_  
"Thank you, Mondo…the locket really special to me.James had given it to me when he still had a bit of money and after we quit the bike gang.He said it matched my eyes: sapphire blue.As best friends in the whole world; we had made a pact that we would never be separated and we never had.If only he'd…"Jessie had stopped there and sighed. _**

**_ _**

**_She didn't bother to finish, knowing she probably said too much but Mondo knew: Jessie had always wanted to be more than best friends with James…she loved him for who he was, even when she got annoyed with her partner in crime. Mondo swallowed._**

**_ _**

**_"Perhaps he'll see the truth one day, my senior," Mondo said slowly and understandingly, not knowing if his heart was aching because he loved Jessie or that hewanted help Jessie to be happy._**

**_ _**

**_"Mondo?"_**

**_ _**

**_"What is it, Jessie-sempai?"_**

**_ _**

**_"Thank you for your kindness…my friend. I had wanted to end it al after that happened…but I made a promise to both you and James…I shall never forget it like I shall never part with my locket, no matter how hard my situations become."_**

**_ _**

**_She tucked the locket back into her collar and embraced the young boy into a hug.Mondo put his arms around her and felt her tears moisten his hair again.He gently tightened the embrace, feeling like he was going to cry himself.She would never love him the way he had loved her…but it was nice to dream…_**

**_ _**

Mondo stood by the river and watched the sakura blossoms dance in the air like snowflakes.He looked from the locket, to the river, and back at the locket.

"Jessie-sempai…you had made a solemn promise…would you truly break it?"


	7. -Part VII-

Chapter VII

** **

**Chapter VII**

"Let Meowth outta here!"Meowth shook at the bars of the cage.Before he had awaken, Terri and Clark had stolen a cage from a pet store and placed him inside.He shook at them furiously but the bars remained firm.

"I KNEW we should have killed him…" Terry muttered.

"Now, now, you know he's still a pokèmon of the Boss," Clark said, biting off a piece of meat off his stick.The night was quiet and even he was getting worried that Meowth's screaming and yelling would bring James running.

"Why don't you just shut your big, fat Meowth for once?!"Terry screamed.

"I hwade(heard) you talkin' with dem 'uttaGrunts 'bout Jessie!You slime! You-"

"All right, that's enough!"Clark kicked the cage as well, sending Meowth flying into the opposite side.Meowth winced in pain as fire seemed to lick his broken leg.

"OW! You coulda been nicer to da top cat, ya know," Meowth hissed."But dere goes to say, dis is wrong! How can you twos contribute to Jessie's suffern'?!"

"Easy.You three were giving Team Rocket a bad name; we're supposed to strike fear into trainers' hearts, not to be cross-dressing, bumbling villains!We cannot accept failures, remember?Plus, both of us will get promoted," Terri said."Besides, isn't Team Rocket **supposed** to be evil?"

Meowth paused.He never did think about that.Even he forgot that Team Rocket was supposed to be an evil organization devoted to much more than just capturing rare pokèmon for the Boss.Was he truly good at heart? Were Jessie and James as well?

"Even Team Rocket membas should have SOME conscious!We don't turn on teammates! 'Specially not givin' dem to da Labs!"Meowth scolded the two Dan'in members.

"All is fair in love and war," Clark bent down to come face-to-face with the angry feline. "And believe me, life IS war, and war is hell."

"Well, I hope you rot in Hell, you bastards!"Meowth spat at the two as they walked to their tent laughing.He made sure that he knew that they wouldn't come out again for some time and began hacking his way out through the thick bars.He couldn't make too much noise or there will be more than one person who would be in trouble.

*********

Misty awoke to a numbness in her leg.She glanced over and saw two caterpie snuggled on her calf, causing her foot to fall asleep.Her face turned slightly blue.

"EEEYAHHHHH!!!"Misty's screams echoed through the woods, scaring off all pokèmon within a two mile radius.Brock jerked his head up in surprise and sat up in his sleeping bag.Misty took one look at him and stopped screaming, pointing at his face.

"WHAT?!" Brock asked in annoyance. 

"I thought I just saw your eyes **open**!"Misty pointed, her eyes bugged out.The two poor little caterpillar pokèmon got scared at her reaction and scampered off.Brock looked at her strangely. 

"I **always** have my eyes open when I am awake, Misty," he said, irritated that he was insulted for having "special" eyes again.

"Oh," Misty then started shaking again as an aftershock of the buggy experience.She practically threw herself at Brock, seeking refuge under his arms."It was **two** big ugly stinky bugs this time, Brock! I HATE bugs!"

Brock didn't know what to say or what to feel so he just held her and rocked back and forth until Misty stopped shaking.He knew of his friend's fear of bugs but never expected her to freak out so much that she needed his comfort.Heck, one of the first times he saw her scared of a "bug", she kicked him in the face!

Ash was still asleep.He had learned from the first time he slept in the same campground as Misty that he was always in danger of being woken up abruptly and so he slept with earplugs ever since.

*********

Meowth winced as the claws on his aching paw grew to nothing more than stubs.Fury swipes hadn't had much luck with the bars, but he had gone to slowly scratching at the somewhat weakened metal with one paw, so that it was weak enough to break with one slash of his sharpened claws on his other paw.Maybe it was weak enough…

Meowth prayed that Terri and Clark were still sleeping and wouldn't come out anytime soon.

He took back his right paw and slashed wildly at the bars holding him captive.Just like in the movies, the bars resisted for a few seconds before falling outward onto the soft grass.Meowth climbed out and his broken leg caught onto one of the sharp fragments of the bars.Meowth felt it dig into his flesh and fire raced up and down the injured limb again.It hurt more than the Snubble's teeth on his tail.He bit down on his tongue hard enough to taste blood but he held the scream in.Carefully, he lifted the leg over the fragments with his paws and started limping back to the cabin.

*********

The morning passed by as the trio continued on Ash's journey until about lunchtime.Brock set to making steamed rice with bits of meat on the side.He mixed the two together and divided the food among Ash, Misty and himself.His two companionsgave him their thanks and they began to eat.The pokèmon were out of their pokèballs and took great delight in eating their pokèchow.

"Brock, don't you think you can mix a better type of food for Flareon? He's not eating," Ash stated as he saw Jessie make a disgusted face at her food consisting of odd-smelling pellets.She grimaced even more as Ash called her a guy yet again.Brock reached over and took a small bite of her food, making Jessie feel nauseated at the fact that a human was eating pokèchow.He swallowed and thought for a moment.

"It's supposed to taste good from a Flareon's prospective…I wonder why SHE doesn't like it,"

"Flare!" Jessie lunged at Brock's unprotected food and started eating away with great gusto.

"Hey!" Brock protested. "That was MY lunch!"

Jessie paid no attention: this Brock guy was a great cook…

**_"This is delicious! Do you kids always eat things this delectable?" _**

** **

Jessie stopped eating and tried to grasp the memory.But it faded away before she could reflect on it more.

_Damn…_ she thought, angry to have lost another bit of her memory.She wiped off the bits of rice clinging to her fur with a paw and sulked.

"Poor Flareon…" Brock forgave her and scratched her behind the ears.

*********

After a short while, Meowth collapsed. There was no way he could make it back to the cabin…unless…

"Meo-Nya! Nya, Meow! Meowth, meow!" Meowth called out for help in his native tongue with a bit of trouble. 

  
No one answered his call.He tried again.

"Meow! nya…meow, Meowth?" 

A young houndour peeked out of the bushes.He looked puzzled at Meowth whose eyes were brimming with tears of joy.Finally a pokèmon had answered his call!The woods were full of pidgies and ratata,both whom knew that they were naturally his prey and so had stayed clear of him.

"Grrowl?"The Houndour asked.

**_I gots to get back to my friend who is stayin' at a cabin down the river.I have to tell him…something before its too late. No time for questions.Please…will you help me?_**

**_ _**

**_Climb on my back_**

"Meownyasu…" Meowth thanked the Houndour as the latter knelt down to allow Meowth to get on his back.After Meowth had made sure he was secured,Houndour dashed though the woods and towards the cabin.


	8. -Part VIII-

-Part VIII-

**-Part VIII-**

"James-sempai…" Mondo muttered under his breath as he ran down the dirt path to the cabin.He had left HQ as soon as he could from running a few errands but he worried that he would be too late since his jeep had been in the repair shop.If only James didn't kill himself before he got there.Morbid thoughts raced thorough Mondo's mind as he raced closer: blood splattered on the walls and a gun in hand…an empty bottle of pills…a body found dangling in the bathroom…

_No…stop it!_ He thought to himself, trying to push the gruesome images out of his mind.But he couldn't help it; no one could."Just hold on, James! I just hope I am in time!"

He opened the door and rested his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

"James-sempai?" he called out.No answer.He walked to the bedroom door.

This time he heard faint sounds emerging from the bedroom.Mondo put his ear to the wooden door and realized it was James crying softly to himself.

"…Jessie…all my fault…my fault…Jessie…my fault," James babbled incoherently in a choking subdued voice.Mondo pulled away from the door.

**His** fault?! Did James…**hurt **Jessie?!

Mondo clenched his fist up so tight that he felt the locket dig into his palm and he pounded his fist on the door, alerting James that someone was in the cabin. James sat up in his bed, clutching the photograph of him and Jessie together.He tucked it under a pillow and lifted himself from the bed and walked towards the sound.Mondo backed away from the door.

The door handle turned and James' pitiful and tired face appeared in the doorway.

"Leave me alone," he said, starting to close the door.Mondo jammed his foot in the doorway. 

"No.What happened to Jessie?"Mondo demanded, fire in his eyes.James was growing frightened and slightly paranoid.He knew that Mondo had a crush on Jessie.What would Mondo think of him if he told him what he had done?

"I don't want to talk about it," James averted his gaze and attempted to close the door again but Mondo shoved half of himself into the bedroom. 

"What happened?"Mondo demanded again, this time getting inside the bedroom. The door slammed shut andJames fell to the floor with Mondo's force disappearing from the other side of the door.

"James…I know there's something amiss," Mondo started. James was taken aback and his heart pounded heavily in his chest._He knew…he must have heard!_ , his crazed mind thought.

James' paranoia went sky-high and something within him snapped.Mondo was surprised to find James suddenly up against his leg and latching onto it like a frightened child, sobbing again.

"Its all my fault! I killed her!" James confessed between sobs, looking up at the younger Rocket in great grief.

**Killed** her?! James?! How could this be possible?!Mondo couldn't speak nor think.He was transfixed to the spot,staring at the sobbing man whose words echoed through his mind. 

"I insulted her and she ran away…went an…an…" James couldn't continue and buried his face in Mondo's white pants. James sobs racked his body so hard that Mondo was sure that hearts **did** break.

*********

Jessie's ears perked up.She was sure she heard a familiar sound.But who was this?

**_I know! I know that voice! I must find out! _**she cried out in her now native tongue.

"What is it, Flareon?" Ash asked.Jessie went crazy.She jumped around, darting about as if chasing a butterfree.

"Flare! Flare!" she cried again._'Oh please stay! I must find out my past!'_Jessie hoped as she ran towards the thick woods.

"No! Flareon, return!" Ash recalled Jessie just before she reached the underbrush."Aw…that was close."

Inside the pokèball, Jessie mentally growled angry obscene words to Ash.Damn brat….if only she knew who was crying!She knew she knew that voice without a doubt.But who was it?

As if on cue,the image of the angry man flooded her mind.A man with wispy lavender hair and deep emerald green eyes.

"…the locket really special to me.James said it matched my eyes: sapphire blue.As best friends in the whole world; we had made a pact that we would never be separated and we never had."

"James…" Jessie found a name.This time, many more memories flooded her mind, almost too much for her to handle.Her mother, Pokèmon Tech, the Bike Gang, the Nursing School, her old boyfriend Andy, her rival Cassidy,and even Xavier…

Many more spaces of Jessie's uncompleted puzzle of memories were filled. 

No wonder she couldn't remember!Many of the memories she had were ones with James or her mother. They were the ones the mechanism had targeted and modified.For if she had forgotten about either one…she would have forgotten everything truly important to her.

But who was James?Was he simply a partner in crime? Already she knew the answer was no. Were they heated lovers or the best friends? Or perhaps both? In any case, his name made her heart pound fast.He was the missing link.But there were many more parts to be filled.And to fill the gaps meant finding James, which meant getting away from the twerps. 

*******

James had not calmed down at all during the time Mondo tried to handcuff him to the bedpost so he couldn't run away.It only made him even more panicky when he succeeded in slapping on one end to his wrist.But at least Mondo now knew why James was so upset.

"You have to listen to me!" he cried as James lashed out at him. But James paid no heed, he was positive Mondo would report him to the Boss and murder within Team Rocket was not tolerated unless authorized by Giovanni himself.Mondo finally gave up trying to cuff the other end of the handcuffs to the bedpost so he ran and shut and locked the bedroom door. James was thrown into a full-blown frenzy; cursing, crying, clawing and banging at the door .It was a miracle the wooden thing didn't just fall over. Mondo saw no other way to get James to listen and he punched him right in the jaw. 

The momentum carried James across the room, parallel to the door and he slammed against the dresser.He fell to the floor silent.His body ached all over and he looked at Mondo with questioning eyes. For as long as he had known him, Mondo had never even talked back to him.Mondo wiped the sweat off his brow, walked over and lowered himself to James' level.

"I am not reporting you. I just want to talk," he explained, softly. "I am sorry about striking you."

As if his words were a reminder, the pain from the blow struck James like a hammer.Not able to respond, he slowly nodded his head but looked away, rubbing his jaw and neck.

"Do you remember Jessie's promise to you years ago?" Mondo asked.James slowly lifted his head, the tears still flowing from his eyes.

"What promise? What do you know about it?" James whispered vemihmley. 

"You two made a pact that you'd never separate.Do you think that she would kill herself with such a vow she made?"

"I insulted her and her mother! What do you think? She hated me! She hated life! Just the other day we were chased by Ursarings and she blamed everything unhappy about her life on me and Meowth!"James got excited again and resumed crying bitterly.

_Where IS Meowth, anyways?_ Mondo wondered.James didn't reply.Mondo shook him."James! You have to snap out of it! You'll drown in your own sorrow and for the love of God, stop speaking about Jessie in past tense!"

"What does it matter?! I killed her! How can I live knowing that?"James wailed.

"You didn't kill her, James! She wouldn't dare!" Mondo said though gritted teeth, intensifying the grip he held on James' shoulders.

"And why would she even stay on this damned Earth after what she's been through? After what I've said?!"

"Because she loves you!"Mondo shouted in James' face, his patience finally wearing thin.James stopped everything he was doing, including crying although he still choked in-between breaths.

"Love...me?" he echoed.

"Yes, I've known it for a long time.She was so upset after the whole incident with the gym and all and even before that.I felt the strongest bond between you then;even if she doesn't like to show it much." Mondo fished out the locket from his pocket and placed it in James' free hand.James looked at him with amazement.

Jessie had kept his gift all these years?

"She kept the…" James whispered nearly to himself.He opened it up by flipping the tiny, nearly invisible catch.It opened and James gazed at the two photographs in them.He had never seen what pictures Jessie had put in it, nor did he ever expect Jessie to keep it for so long when it had such a high value and they were in desperate need of money, even many years ago when they were pre-teens without a care in the world and without a cent in their pockets.

But now he saw that Jessie had had his faded picture close to her heart for a long time; accompanied by her faded self on the other side; they were like pictures on two separate sheets of transparent paper overlapping the other but never truly touching..but were.It was hard to explain what was going through his head.James expression softened and the tension flowed away from his body.

"I never knew…." He mumbled, lightly fingering the locket. Had this been truly special to her? Not for its money's worth?She had been as serious as he had about their vow?

"She would as soon desert that locket as to desert you.That is a strong promise, nearly as strong as the bond."

"But…how did you get it if she wouldn't part from it?" James tensed up again as he averted his gaze and clenched his fist around the locket.

At that moment, the front door was heard opening and a Houndour burst into the room with Meowth on his back.

Meowth thanked the Houndour who nodded his head in reply and bounded off into the woods again, nervous to be around humans for long. 

"Meowth!" Mondo said. "Your leg…"

"Neva mind 'bout dat! We's gots ta move **now**! Dos twos, Terri and Clark will be here any minute once dey find me gone!" 

"Who?" James asked.

"As I said! Neva mind dat now! We's gots ta move out!"

"Those two?" Mondo asked, recognizing the names at once. "If they are coming, we'd better prepare for trouble." Sure enough, Mondo looked out the window and saw two black dots in the distance.

"Oh, fish an' whiskers!" Meowth swore as Mondo told him."Meow! Mondo, get some food an' stuff and we'll split da jointso I can tell ya 'bout Jess later!"

Mondo nodded but then he shook his head violently. 

"There's no time! We got to get out now! Let's go! Meowth, get Jessie's pokèballs from the night table."

"You think I can with dis broken leg?!"

James hastily shoved the locket inside his own pocket and got a paperclip that he found under the bed and started picking at the handcuff lock as Mondo unlocked the bedroom door.What did Meowth want to tell about Jessie?The paperclip snapped inside the keyhole.

"Agh!" he cried.He began to ask Mondo for the key.

"I think I lost it when you lashed out at me. No time! I'll help you later."

They ran out the bedroom door and towards the backdoor.

"HEY! You forgot Meowth again!" Meowth yowled, with Jessie's pokèballs in paw before Mondo remembered him and scooped him up.Together, they fled the cabin through the back way as soon as Terri and Clark were coming up the path.

They ran fast into the deep forest, stumbling over thick vegetation and did not stop before they reached the Vermillion Pokèmon Center a couple of miles away.Since James was in civilian clothing already and Mondo had removed his outer jacket, gloves and replaced his shoes before they went in, they drew no notice from anyone.Meowth(who made sure not to talk) was taken in for mending his leg and the rest of the pokèmon were being healedwhile James and Mondo sat in the lobby.

James removed his left hand from his pocket and looked stupidly at the handcuffs still dangling there.There was no way he could get it off now that there was a paperclip stuck in it and Officer Jenny would probably be suspicious about him if she spotted him.

"So…" he began."Who are Terri and Clark?"

"Them? Oh, they are the worst Grunts you could possibly run into.They'd grab any opportunity to be promoted and together, they've gotworse attitudes than a wet Meowth stuck in the artic. They've yelled at me before and I don't ever want to be near them again; I'd as soon be painted red and run through a group of electabuzz."

James didn't seem to hear Mondo's response since he was fingering the sapphire locket again."Why did she leave me?" 

"She didn't.I know she wouldn't," Mondo placed a hand on his shoulder. "Meowth seemed to have some information on Jessie…I wonder what Terri and Clark have to do with it."

But Mondo did have an idea, and so did James.They looked at each other.Was the duo hired to kill Jessie?

Nurse Joy interrupted their thoughts.She had a stern look on her face as they sat up straight in their seats.

"Is Meowth ok?" James asked, hiding his handcuffed hand behind his back.Nurse Joy's face softened a bit as Meowth hobbled out of the treatment room with a bandaged leg and supporting himself with a set of crutches. 

"He'll be fine but I am surprised that a trainer would be irresponsible. It looked like the poor thing was through more than just a battle."

James just saying "yes ma'am" so Nurse Joy wouldn't prattle on about responsibility and so they left the Pokèmon center and went straight to the lighthouse James and Meowth had stayed in once before going aboard the St. Anne.There,Meowth began to tell what he had heard.

"…and then he said dat Jess was up for experimentn'!" Meowth concluded."Dey faked her death an' kidnapped her. I told ya it wasn't yer fault, Jimmy-boy."

James had been sitting silently on the bed,drinking a glass of water as Meowth talked.Meowth sweatdropped as he heard a breaking sound and saw water and glass fragments fall to the floor during the moment of silence that followed. 

It wasn't his fault after all? And he had wasted all this time… "Giovanni! I swear I am going to wring his neck and kill him! I know he's behind all this! He's ALWAYS behind this! Giovanni?! You hear me, Giovanni?! I am going to kill you, you rotten, greedy bastard!"

"Easy! Easy!" Mondo pushed him back down as James had suddenly leapt up and raved."We've got to find Jessie first!"

"Which means," Meowth began."Finding Rocket Labs.Mondo, you've been dere before, meow?"

"Yes I have.I was just there running an errand before I came to the cabin." 

"If they've hurt Jessie…If they've hurt her…" James muttered, lying down on the bed, glaring at the ceiling, clenching his fists in bitter hatred.

"Revenge comes later, Jimmy," Meowth said, to James before turning back to Mondo."What kind of errand?"

"Delivering coffee and science equipment.I heard something about a project, but they always talk about the latest projects and I never listened in. I wish I had this time."

"Not your fault, Mondo, though it could have been to some advantage. We needa head over dere."

"They'd be looking for you and James, I'd bet; after you ran away from Terri and Clark.After all, the first person you'd run to is James."

"But dey'd be lookin' for you too since you'd be the second person I'd run to."

"But they don't know where I was.I was supposed to be in Sapphire City today," Mondo grinned."All I have to do is get called for another errand in Viridian and sneak in."

"What should we do?" Meowth asked. "Since we can't go near the Labs, nor be seen with you?"

"I'd say, go to the least obvious place you'd head to and stay there for a while," Mondo replied."I'll-"

But Mondo stopped in mid-sentence and stared at the bed.Meowth turned around and saw James was gone.Jessie's pokèballs were missing from the nightstand as well.

"Oh God…" both muttered.

James looked behind him, already a distance away from the lighthouse.He couldn't keep in hiding, when he knew that Jessie was in danger.After all, he was HER James like Mondo was THEIR Mondo.He started running towards Viridian where the Rocket Labs were located .His breaths came in hard, steady heaves and his thoughts were racing.He already lost a friend once in the past, he wasn't going to let it happen again.And this time, it was more than a friendship he was capable of losing.He could lose his love.


	9. -Part IX-

Part IX 

** **

"He ESCAPED?!" The leader of the Dan'in roared.Terri and Clark cowered slightly. 

"Yes, sir.It appeared that he used fury swipes on the cage to slice his way through and-" Clark began.

The leader slammed a fist on his desk and ordered them to get out of his trailer.The door slammed behind them.Terri and Clark slumped off to their tent, ignoring the comments around them made by fellow Dan'in members.They hated being'Grunts'; doing grunt work and being ridiculed by members of the three higher-ranking squadrons.There had to be a way to get respect.

"I hate this shit," Terri muttered.Clark placed a rough hand on her shoulder. 

"But we can get back on the Leader's good side. Let's go find and capture Meowth and James.The Boss shall be pleased," he said, smiling while running a hand through her short violet hair. 

*********

_'If only I had the rest of my memories…' she_ sighed.Who was James? 

Misty was trotting by Brock and sighing happily.

"At last we'll get to sleep in nice comfy beds again at the pokèmon center.And I'll finally get to have a bath!" Misty said, imagining herself soaking in a nice bubble bath.Ash made a weird, disgusted face.

Jessie wished the twerp would shut up.The constant bouncing in Ash's springy walk was bad enough while in a pokèball.

A low rumbling was heard.The twerps turned around.

"AH! Team Rocket!" the twerps cried out on cue.Ash reached for Jessie's pokèball and released her."Go, Flareon! Flamethrower!"

Jessie shook her head several times, blinking at the lavender-blue-haired man who was panting from his long journey.Flashbacks attacked her mind so rapidly, Jessie couldn't distinguish one from another.James' wispy hair fluttered across his face as he came to an abrupt halt, seeing the brats were in the way.

**James! **Jessie ran to James.Her best friend had found her!But before she could even give him a friendly pounce, James kicked her hard in the stomach.Jessie yelped and fell to the ground in pain.She stood up.Not once in the time she had spent with James had he even laid a finger on her in attempt to hurt her physically.He saw her as a savage creature, a new pokèmon to fend off.

"Buzz off, twerp! Let me through!" James scowled.Jessie was in trouble..he needed to get to Viridian City and not even a Flareon's flame would stop him, though Jessie was significantly smaller, like a baby Flareon so it probably wouldn't hurt THAT much….

**James, you dolt! It's me! Can't you see?! **Jessie got up again and advanced towards James.This time when she leapt up, James put up an arm in defense.The loose cuff swung and the metal cut Jessie under the eye.She fell but rose up slowly to walk towards James again.

"Oh…Flareon!" Ash admired its courage. "You still want to protect me from Team Rocket!"

** **

Jessie snorted in disgust and pressed on, deliberately taking a small step at a time.James was getting impatient.But he had no pokèmon good against fire types…maybe Jessie's pokèmon would work…."Go, Arbok!" he threw the sphere into the middle of the designated fighting ground between himself and the Flareon.

"SHA~!" the violet serpent hissed.Jessie thought of this as ironic, being attacked by her own pokèmon.

"Arbok! Acid!"James commanded.

"Flareon! Flamethrower!" Ash called out.But Jessie did not heed, not only because she still did not know how to control her powers, but because she didn't want to hurt one of her friends.So she dodged Arbok's acid, which wasn't that hard since she knew his attacks and abilities inside and out.But it was tiring for she had to keep up her speed to keep the awful acid from turning her into yogurt.

**ARBOK! It's me! Jessie! **she kept calling out. But the serpent couldn't believe that a pokèmon was his master so he kept on trying to spray her with acid.Pikachu snorted and tilted her head, amused and puzzled at the same time.

"Finish it off, Arbok! Glare!" James said.Arbok's eyes glimmered a silvery-blue and Jessie was frozen in place."Wrap attack!" 

Jessie was squeezed with such a considerable force that she couldn't breathe at all.Her ribcage seemed be on the verge of shattering as the serpent's squeezing increased.

**Arbok…it is me, Jessie! Arbok, please! **she pleaded between gasps.Still the squeezing became more intense and the weakened Jessie slowly gave up, unable to take the lack of air any longer.Arbok suddenly got curious in his opponent and gave her a quick sniff.Jessie's human scent filled his nostrils and his eyes opened wide with shock as he realized it was his mistress he was choking the life out of.Arbok recoiled in shock of what he had done. 

**Mistress! Wake up! Please wake up! **Arbok begged the Flareon to wake up and breathe.The trainers were confused, only hearing Arbok's "sha~s", "bokas" and hissings.

"What is it Arbok? Finish it off! Team Rocket will finally have a victory and we can get onto Viridian City!"

"SHA~!" Arbok refused. 

"Arbok refuses to battle?" Ash asked in surprise.

**Mistress? Arbok, what are you talking about? **Pikachu asked.Flareon was just crazy…was she?

Arbok tearfully wailed that he had killed his mistress, Jessie.Pikachu contemplated this for a while. ****Pikachuhad never really communicated with or paid attention to Jessie as a Flareon but she sniffed the air and realized it was Jessie's human scent that drove Arbok crazy, though it did not make logical sense. How could a human become a pokèmon?And all this time she had assumed that it was hunger playing a trick on her.

"CHU!" she called out to Ash. 

"What is it?"

"Chu, pika! Chupi!"Pikachu swept her ears back in an aerodynamic arch, imitating Jessie's hair and proceeded to imitate Jessie's part of the motto, in Pikachu language.

"You need more ketchup?" 

"CHU!" Pikachu face-faulted.During this time, Arbok had tried to imitate Jessie as well to James, but lacking limbs, he couldn't do it very well.James was getting rather impatient. He needed to get to Viridian fast!

"Arbok, return!" Arbok dodged the red beam and knocked the pokèball out of James' hand.James was getting fed up.Everyone was against him when they knew Jessie needed to be rescued; even Jessie's own pokèmon.

"Weezing, go!"James threw out his own pokèball.The two-headed pokèmon wheezed its name before confronting Arbok.After only a few words between them, Weezing took to Arbok's side.

"Why are you all against me?! God, what did I ever do?! Jessie is in trouble and I need to get to Viridian to save her! Why can't anyone understand?!" James raved on, waving his arms around, getting hit with the loose cuff several times.

"Flare…" Jessie stirred and got to her feet, sucking in air.Arbok and Weezing backed away, giving her air.

**Mistress alright?! **Arbok hovered around her.

** **

**Yes, I am ok, Arbok; don't be sorry. **Jessie replied, shaking her head to rid it of a splitting headache.

** **

**Master James worried about you**

Jessie stared at Weezing, who had just spoken, and then back at James.

**He** had missed **her**? After how she overreacted, slapped **and** spat at him?Well, of course he should have been worried!But he hadn't worried about her during the Ursaring escapade so why would he be worried about her now? 

"Fl-eon…"Jessie moaned and staggered to James' side.Both James and the Twerps were surprised. 

"Get away from me!" James yelled, preparing to kick her again."I need to find my friend Jessie!"

But this time, Jessie dodged his kick and tackled her friend to the ground. James was such a dunce; how else would she get through his thick skull and tap into his excuse of a brain?He fell to the ground and Jessie leapt onto his chest, snarling with anger.She had had enough of his stupidity. She heard some yells in the background but she took no notice of the twerps. 

James stared hard into the angry eyes of the small pokèmon on his chest.There was something familiar about its glare.He'd recognize that glare anywhere; a cold stare that was only used with him in times of failure .And it had the same deep shade of sapphire in its eyes and the same curl of hair…

Something clicked in James' brain.

Was this the experimentation that Meowth had overheard about?Anything was possible at Rocket Labs but he had never heard of something so simple yet bizarre becoming a reality.A human turning into a pokèmon?Was this a coincidence or was this really his best friend?The eyes kept glaring at him.

"J-J-Jessie?!" he gulped and stammered, his voice hitting a high pitch.Jessie looked at him as if to say 'you finally got it, idiot' and went to snuggling against his face with hers.James was utterly confused as the furry cheek met with his.It wasn't often that a person found out his best human friend was a pokèmon of fire ability and it was even less often that Jessie would even apologize for what she had done. 

"Jessie?!" the Twerps asked out loud at last.

"Jessie! What in the world did they do to you?!"he hugged her to his chest, crying tears of joy and sorrow at the same time.The Twerps were stunned.

"Flare.." Jessie muttered, not allowing her own tears through.There was no way she was going to go soft in front of James, not to mention the Twerps.Jessie heard his heart pounding loudly in his chest while pinned tightly to him.

"Jessie! Don't you know how much I missed you? I thought you were dead, Jess! I nearly-Jessie!"James pressed her closer to him.

Jessie jerked her head up and stared in surprise at him.Had her disappearance really affected him that much?Never in her life did Jessie ever imagine that James cared for her that deeply or would feel that guilty.Didn't this guy ever try to hide his feelings?He was even more upset about her new condition than she was.

"Flare…" she said, wishing that he could understand for he just shrugged at her comment and ran his fingers through the tuft of hair on her head.

"Lets go," James said, standing up with her in his arms and starting to walk away.

"HEY! You can't take my pokèmon!" Ash said at last.No way was Team Rocket getting away! The whole event with James discovering his Flareon was Jessie had to be staged.No way that could ever happen.

"Weezing! Smoke screen!" James signaled.

"Wee~ze…"a green-gray screen of smoke covered the area and James heard the Twerps hacking away.The Rockets took this opportunity to make their getaway and disappeared.


	10. -Part X-

Part X

Part X 

James stopped in a park after a while and sat on a bench.Jessie sat on her haunches beside him.

"Jess, before anything else happens, I just wanna say…" James gulped. "I am sorry for what happened.I am sorry that I insulted you…really, I am. Forgive me?"James was just surprised at himself as Jessie was.Though he did apologize many times in the past, it was merely to escape the wrath of a punch or a slap of the fan.This was probably one of the first sincere apologies they had exchanged since they joined Team Rocket and life became stressful.Would she even understand?

Jessie nodded and turned her head away, smirking happily.Now what was left to do?

"We'd better head to Viridian Labs and get you back to normal!" James signaled to Jessie to follow him.Jessie shook her head.Too dangerous.

"Flare," Jessie leapt off the bench and signaled for James to follow him.

"Wait! Where are you going?"he called as he tagged along behind. 

Soon they reached Viridian City but Jessie didn't want to go to the Labs.Instead she sat down by a pay-video phone and yapped at James to dial a number.

"Who are we going to get help from? I don't even know who to call!" James said, phone in hand.

Jessie snarled at him to shut up and started to trace a phone number out in the dirt.

"8…5...oh!" James got the message and called up Rebecca.She might have heard something around Rocket Labs.Besides…she was the only one in the Labs that Jessie knew besides Xavier and she couldn't contact HIM.

"Hello?" the image of a woman in her mid-30's appeared on the screen.James gulped. "Rebecca?" he asked.

"James?!" Rebecca's voice came in surprise. "You know that everyone is looking for you?"

"What? What did I do?"James gasped. 

"Supposedly betrayed the Team."

"Now look, I didn't-" James protested.

"I know that you didn't betray Team Rocket, James.I know all about the experiment,"Rebecca said simply.

"Hold on a minute…YOU know about this?"James asked, picking up Jessie with his spare arm, which wasn't hard, considering her small size."I thought you were only in the handle and care division."

"Flare!" 

"Let me explain; there's this new guy down at the labs, Xavier.We were having lunch the other day and he told me everything, not knowing I knew Jess personally.Apparently the Metamorphosis division of the lab has suddenly gotten enormous amounts of funds from a lady-he didn't catch her name though-and Jessie was a targeted test subject.No one knows why she's funding this whole thing though."

Jessie's ears had perked up when she heard Xavier's name. She started yapping away.

"I wish I knew what you were saying, Jess. It would be a whole lot easier," he patted her.

"Now just a minute…I might still have them…" Rebecca disappeared from the screen and reappeared shortly.She found what she was looking for and brought out two objects.She sent it over to James through the teleportation slot and James examined it.It was a hearing aid-like device that was gray in color and quite bulky.

"What do I need a hearing aid for?" he asked.Rebecca sighed and put her own hearing aid into her ear and motioned James to do the same.He stuck it in his ear a bit warily, hoping it wouldn't explode in his ear.

"Just talk, Jessie," Rebecca said.

"How would you even understand me?" Jessie said, exasperated.

"Whoa!" James lurched back, hearing not yaps and growls but Jessie's human voice. "This thing **translates** pokè-speech?" 

"You got it, kiddo," Rebecca said."Now, Jess.Tell us everything."

*********

"How long does it take to find a blue-haired freak and a talking cat?" Terri muttered.

"Come on, Terr.We've done this thing before," Clark replied, snaking his arms around Terri's shoulders.Terry sighed and glanced at him."And we'll get them together.I promise."

*********

"…and then...here I am."Jessie finished.She was glad that both humans could understand them with the translating devices and perhaps Allie could figure out a solution.Rebecca opened her eyes after being deep in thought.

"Hmmm…first off, come to Rocket Labs.Take the translator. It might help along the way."She sent over her ID card.

"Thanks," James held the card in the same hand as he held the phone. " We'll be on our way then. Thanks and bye, Rebecca!"

Jessie felt puzzled but smiled anyways. 

Rebecca waved before hanging up the phone and turned back to the mirror.She reached to the base of her neck to find the edge of the mask and pulled it over her head in a quick motion.Sarah shook out her short auburn hair, removed the voice modifier and smiled at her own reflection, glad to see her own face again.Now she knew where Jessie was.She put her disguise back on and headed to the Lab.


	11. -Part XI-

Part XI

Part XI 

"Something is not right…" Jessie muttered.

"Aw, come on, Jess. It was your idea to call," James replied, adjusting the volume of the translator.It was pretty cool talking to a pokèmon who talked back in a human voice. 

"I know but…" Jessie couldn't explain the uneasiness in her stomach; something just didn't seem right.They got closer to the Labs.

James donned some sunglasses and put on a large blazer.He opened it a bit and Jessie fit snug by his stomach. They rounded the corner and James slid Rebecca's ID card into the slot.The light turned green and James slipped in.He soon found Natasha's lab room and knocked.'Natasha' let him in.James sank into a chair.

"God…you have no idea how tense I was," he panted.Jessie poked out her head out of the top of the blazer and panted for air as well. 

"You have no idea how more tense it is going to get, dear James," Sarah said in her own voice and pulled off her mask.

"What the-?!" James started to question.But he had no time to react. Several Dan' in members leapt from their secret hiding places.Several were needed to restrain James though it took a while since they had to dodge the loose cuff on his wrist.

"Run, Jessie!" James heard himself yell.He could hardly believe it himself: Him? Being unselfish in a life-threatening situation?

Jessie slipped out of the blazer and tried to make a run for the still unclosed door but another Dan' in member scooped her up and no matter how much she squirmed, his vice-like grip refused to let go.

He took out an electric wand -the type they used to subdue prisoners- and hit her with it.Jessie screamed and fell limp. Seeing this set off a mixture of fear and fury in James.Jessie wasn't a helpless person…she couldn't be.Yet there she was, left to the mercy of ruthless gang members.

"Leave her alone!" James howled, trying to break free of the tight hold of his arms. Sarah smirked and gently ran a silky hand across his cheek, sending cold chills down his spine.

"I am afraid, I can't," She turned to the Dan' in. "Lock him away.We'll deal with him later." 

"Jessie! Jessie!" he cried as he was dragged away.

"No use, James.She can't hear you.Jezebelle will be very pleased," Katherine smiled.

"So she's behind all this!" James screamed."Jessie!" 

"Perhaps she is, perhaps not," Sarah answered to the first part of his outburst."Now with Jessie out of the way, you two can live happily ever after."

"Never! I'd rather die before I set foot into the chapel!"James screamed."Jessie! Jessie!" he back turned to the auburn-haired woman, glaring at her. "Why are you doing this to us?!"

But Sarah wouldn't say anything more.She just stood and smirked as she watched the helpless lad get dragged off.She then looked at the unconscious Jessie.Finally the real testing can begin…

James soon found himself thrown in the solitary confinement unit and he shook at the barred window in the door, yelling all the while.

An hour passed…two…then days dragged by.James slumped against door and his fist made a final weak 'thud' on the door.Twice he had betrayed Jessie…twice.Will he even get a chance to see her again?

Against his will, the human image of Jessie appeared in his mind.But instead of being strong and proud like always, he saw her as a broken woman with tears of sorrow gleaming in her eyes.Her clothes were ripped to shreds.It was unbearable to think of her that way.

"Jessie…." It came out barely a whisper.

He sobbed into his dirty hands in despair.

@-}-----

***END PART ONE***

**~* To all readers: my idea is getting too long for one fic(to me anyways.) **

**Stay tuned for 'Crimson Red'; Part II in the _Point of Endurance_ Trilogy.**

**I hoped you've all enjoyed reading! Thanks for the reviews! It means a lot. **

**^_^**

**~SV**

**Preview of 'Crimson Red':**

** **

"Voices…they are coming from somewhere…but what are they saying? I know they are talking about me.But I am already awake. Where am I?" Jessie wondered.She missed the company of James and Meowth.It had been a while since she was totally alone and she didn't welcome its return.

Jessie turned around to see a glimmering in the darkness.Was it a star?Was she dead after all?


End file.
